One of our favorite benefits of running Opensewer is having the ability to give exposure to young, less established artists, right alongside those with years of experience and exhibitions. So we present…

Photographer Nick Dunfey’s strange interpretations of ancient and classical themes ignore the traditional sense of beauty, and instead focus on the sinister undercurrents that lie beneath the surface.

Wednesday, March 27

This is a fascinating story because it shows what a free society does when confronted with a crisis. Do we maintain our sense of freedom and liberty and dissent and open discussion of the issues? Or do we start putting the clamp down? ... I'm really proud of this book, and I'm dying for it to get out there.

Michael Moore, on his publisher's insistance that he rewrite his new book, Stupid White Men and Other Excuses for the State of the Nation, to be less critical of President Bush. Story here.

And following up on Megan's post on Monday about music copyright, here's an excellent article about the future of music distribution. (NY Times article; username: opensewer; password: iswatching; via Rebecca Blood)

Following-up my post on Monday about the Thomas Kinkade-inspired housing subdivision, here is a very well-written book review from Salon (2 years ago) that encapsulates many of the key issues in the debate over suburbia. On one hand, suburbia is a condition within which 90% of America (happily?) lives. On the other, it is a reprehensible urban form that uses too much land and fails to promote community and civic involvement. The two books, "Suburban Nation" and "Picture Windows" offer, respectively, practical and ideal critiques of the suburban landscape. The divergence of the critiques represents the inherent tension that exists for those (myself included) seeking long-term solutions to the societal problems caused by suburbia: Progressive developers and planners "ask what can be done, given the realities of the marketplace, and the academics ask what ought to be done, even if it's impossible."

Tuesday, March 26

Not sure of my feelings for Charlotte Allen's article about manhood being back in fashion. Seems like everything is different now due to 9-11. Is this a good thing - for men, for women, for all of us? With all the strides taken, all the progress, will 9-11 serve as a set-back rather than a push forward for humankind?

Phun Facts: The triangular shape of the Flatiron Building (an early skyscraper on 23rd Street in Manhattan) produced wind currents that made women’s skirts billow and caused police to create the term ’23 skiddoo’ to shoo gapers from the area.

Sunday, March 24

In case you're wondering why we were so quiet this weekend, Rosie and I were enjoying a nice mini-vacation in Montreal. We had a very nice time, thank-you, and "business" will resume on Monday. (Jean and Sylvain, thanks for your wonderful hospitality!)

Wednesday, March 20

"Is the cost to society at large greater than the potential benefit to the species?" asked David Smith, general counsel of the Building Industry Association of Southern California. "That's what the government is supposed to consider."

Ahhh, The Oscars. Now, the editors at Alternet present you with the The Keanus, awards which are named after Keanu Reeves in honor of the next "Actor Most Able to Make Bad Movie After Bad Movie, with Little Real Acting Skill in Evidence, and Yet Emerge Unscathed and Well-Loved." Cast yer vote now!

On the sidewalks, encased in spotless plastic bags, the remains of yesterday’s Leonia await the garbage truck. Not only squeezed tubes of toothpaste, blown-out light bulbs, newspapers, containers, wrappings, but also boilers, encyclopedias, pianos, porcelain dinner services. It is not so much by the things that each day are manufactured, sold, bought that you can measure Leonia’s opulence, but rather by the things that each day are thrown out to make room for the new. So you begin to wonder if Leonia’s true passion is really, as they say, the enjoyment of new and different things, and not, instead, the joy of expelling, discarding, cleansing itself of a recurrent impurity.

Saturday, March 16

Low-income nations cannot solve their health problems without assistance. The World Health Organization’s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health estimates that annually between $30 and 40 per person is needed to cover “essential interventions” to minimize the impact of the greatest health threats to the world’s poorest nations. These include HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, childhood infectious diseases (many of which are preventable by vaccination), maternal and perinatal conditions, tobacco-related illnesses, and micronutrient deficiencies. Read the executive summary of the report—it’s less than 20 pages (PDF).

Currently, about $6 billion per year of donor financing is provided to the WHO from all nations. It is estimated that this needs to increase to $27 billion per year by 2007. To put things into perspective, please note that world citizens purchased $20 billion of Coca Cola products last year, $25 billion worth of Disney goods and services, and nearly $1 billion worth of Beanie Babies. (Link to full report here.)

Tuesday, March 12

A sign of the times: Recycling is being reconsidered due to the numbers on the books--i.e., not profitable. It's another setback for America, starting with New York City. As an aside, here is an informative page on recycling efforts in Europe. (First article is in the NYTimes; login: opensewer; password: iswatching.)

Following up on Josh's post, The Independent reports about the U.S.'s contingency plans for possible nuclear strikes, and describes the situations where nuclear strikes might be needed - one of the situations is, "...in the event of surprising military developments." Hmm. Here's the article.

Sunday, March 10

In recent months, when Bush administration officials talked about the implications of Sept. 11 for long-term military policy, they have often focused on "homeland defense" and the need for an anti-missile shield. In truth, what has evolved since last year's terror attacks is an integrated, significantly expanded planning doctrine for nuclear wars.

Wednesday, March 6

Supporters of Intelligent Design Theory "accept that the earth is billions of years old but they dispute the idea that natural selection -- the force that Darwin suggested drove evolution -- is enough to explain the complexity of the Earth's plants and animals. That complexity, they say, must be the work of an intelligent designer." Critics such as Dr. Eugenie Scott respond (login: opensewer; iswatching) by describing it as "a repackaging of the antievolution movement to try to withstand court challenges by avoiding the C-word."

Sunday, March 3

Artist Stafford Smith uses photography to increase our awareness of the depth of mass media's intrusion on our lives. He exploits the belief that the camera never lies to "document" events we can only hope are not real.